Exceptions
by Lark Chizin Pearie
Summary: Shannon and Kelly are dead. Even after 20 years, Gibbs aches for them. One-Shot


**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, Shannon Gibbs, Kelly Gibbs or the wonderful Leroy Jethro Gibbs nor do I own this wonderful song, From Where You Are by Lifehouse. And I promise, Mr. Bellisario, that I am not profiting off of your show and its characters.**

**On a short break from the Marauders of Darkness, a little idea popped up in my head when I was listening to this song in the bus during my orchestra 'tour'. It is in parentheses because I don't know if it's a tour when it's a symphonic orchestra but whatever. Anyhow, read on and let your imagination soar.**

**Lark Chizin Pearie  
**

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Leroy Jethro Gibbs sat in his car gazing out of the windshield. The leaves and branches on the trees swayed slightly with the direction that the wind blew. His hands felt warm from both the coffee cup in it and the sun shining on it. It wasn't that he was scared of going, he was just… hesitant.

With a small sigh, he opened the car door and exited with the coffee cup still in his hand. The breeze cooled down his sun warmed hands. He simply stood by his car looking out into the green pastures for a little bit before shutting the door and began walking towards his destination.

He hadn't visited in some time but he still knew the way by heart and so he allowed himself to look at the blue sky and the different cloud formations as he walked. Maybe, where they were, they were taking a walk, as well.

**So far away from where you are  
These miles have torn us worlds apart  
And I miss you, yeah, I miss you**

He didn't like to think about what could've been or what should have been. It only depressed him more and he didn't need that and yet, he couldn't help it. They had been his life.

He stopped then turned sharply to his right and walked towards two familiar objects, stopping right in front of them.

"I'm sorry I haven't been here, lately," he spoke as he reached forward and lightly ran his hand over the top of the gravestones. Anyone who knew him post-Shannon and Kelly would've been surprised at his apology but it was different with his wife and daughter. He would make exceptions for them.

**So far away from where you are  
And standing underneath the stars  
And I wish you were here**

Gibbs closed his eyes as a memory suddenly washed over him.

"_Guys! Guys, look!" Kelly exclaimed, pointing into the distance. "The sun AND the moon are out right now! Isn't that cool?" Kelly asked with a wide grin. Her excitement made Gibbs smile softly at her. "Maddie, do you see it?" Kelly questioned._

_Maddie immediately looked to where Kelly was pointing and grinned, as well. "Hey, if you can see the moon, can you see the stars?" Maddie asked._

"_I don't know." Kelly answered, frowning. "Can we see the stars, Daddy? Are they even there?" Kelly asked turning to her father._

"_They're always there, Kelly. Sometimes, it's too bright for you to see them but they're always there." Gibbs explained._

"_D'you hear that? We're standing underneath stars right now even if we can't see 'em!" Kelly repeated to Maddie before her expression suddenly became mischievous. "Hey, Maddie." Kelly whispered to her best friend. Maddie looked at Kelly inquisitively before moving in closer. "Let's pretend we can see the stars. Maybe we'll make my dad think he needs glasses," Kelly giggled._

_Gibbs kept the smirk off his face as it would give away the fact that he could hear every word Kelly was saying. His daughter had never been the most accomplished whisperer._

"_Alright! But how are we going to do that?" Maddie asked._

"_What's that one star group thing that the teacher was talking about yesterday? The one that looked like a cup." Kelly asked in a low voice._

"_Um… you mean constellations?" Maddie wondered, pleased at her memory._

"_Yeah, yeah, a constellation. Which one looked like the cup with the really long handle?" Kelly asked._

"_I think it was the dipper, right? The Big Dipper?" Maddie offered with a light shrug._

"_Yeah! The Big Dipper!" Kelly exclaimed in delight then turned to her father. "Daddy, I think I see the Big Dipper! Do you see it?" Kelly asked, her mischievous expression back._

"_Are you sure it's the Big Dipper?" Gibbs asked, humoring the little girl for the moment as he squinted his eyes at the sky._

"_Yeah, I'm sure." Kelly quickly answered, a small giggle escaping her._

"_Well, Kelly, you remember how you learned in school that the Earth rotates?" Gibbs asked and immediately Kelly nodded. "The stars don't move and right now, the Big Dipper is on the other side of the world." Gibbs informed making both Maddie and Kelly burst into laughter at being one-upped, yet again._

Gibbs looked up into the bright blue sky and spoke, "I'm standing underneath the stars again, Kelly. Just like we used to with your mom." He purposefully left out 'but I wish you guys were here with me'.

**I miss the years that were erased  
I miss the way the sunshine would light up your face  
I miss all the little things  
I never thought that they'd mean everything to me  
Yeah, I miss you and I wish you were here**

"Do you remember the day before Kelly was born, Shannon? We were laughing and joking in the park and I," Gibbs chuckled before continuing, "I'd asked you if you gained a little weight recently. You just rolled your eyes, smacked me and laughed."

Gibbs' grin slowly faded as the loud silence engulfed him. He continued the anecdote in a whisper. "But I thought you looked--looked radiant. You always did. You and Kelly were always so…" Gibbs trailed off as his expression became blank and he attempted to compose himself.

**I feel the beating of your heart  
I see the shadows of your face  
Just know that wherever you are  
Yeah, I miss you and I wish you were here**

_Gibbs looked down at Kelly, who was lying in between him and Shannon, with her head on Shannon's lap and her legs over his. Shifting a little, Gibbs pulled Shannon a little closer to him making her turn away from the TV and towards him with a smile. "Don't move, Daddy." Kelly said absently as she kept her eyes glued to the TV._

"_Are you sure you're supposed to be watching TV like that, Kelly?" Gibbs teased making Kelly sit up with a grin._

"_Mommy let me." Kelly answered cheekily and let out a little squeak when Gibbs poked her lightly on the stomach._

"_It's getting dark. Turn on the lights, please, Kelly." Shannon requested and Gibbs and Shannon quickly took the time that Kelly was gone to move closer to each other._

"_Hey! There's no room for me, anymore!" Kelly exclaimed after running back towards the couch._

"_Well, that's okay. I think it might almost be time for a certain little girl to go to bed, anyway." Gibbs commented._

"_It might be. Not this one, though." Kelly answered with a laugh then decided to just take a seat on the other side of Gibbs._

"_Did you hear that, Jethro? Those smart aleck comments were inherited from you." Shannon informed, poking Gibbs solidly on the chest._

"_Might have been." Gibbs shrugged and turned to make sure Kelly was alright before turning back to Shannon._

_While Kelly continued to watch the TV movie, Shannon and Gibbs simply looked at each other. Shannon reached forward and took his other hand and pressed it to her cheek. He could feel her heart beat on his forearm. Gibbs smiled and leaned forward to give her a kiss then the two waited._

"_Eeeewww!" Kelly exclaimed on cue._

Gibbs had never been a devout Christian. He wasn't even sure if he truly believed in Heaven or Hell but if they were real, he knew for a fact that Shannon and Kelly were in Heaven. After all, they had been angels and angels belong in Heaven.

**I miss the years that were erased  
I miss the way the sunshine would light up your face  
I miss all the little things  
I never thought that they'd mean everything to me  
Yeah, I miss you and I wish you were here**

His heart ached as all these memories were unburied. This was why he was always hesitant to come back… and yet always did. They had been gone for almost two decades but sometimes it felt like he had lost them yesterday and had just received the news in Kuwait. Those days, he didn't know how he functioned. The pain in his heart nearly killed him.

Shannon had been the first woman he had loved so much he would literally do anything for and Kelly had been the first girl. They had been his and they had always done their job perfectly; Shannon as a mother and wife and Kelly as a daughter and he had failed at his job. He hadn't kept them safe.

No matter how much he blamed Pedro and all of his lackeys, he knew that part of the blame was his to hold. If he had just been there instead of always being deployed…

He missed them. He missed them so much. Kelly's laugh. Shannon's smile. Even the little tradition Shannon had started with Kelly that annoyed him when they had been alive.

She and Kelly had taken to making notches in the basement every day he was gone. He had asked her to stop because it was only reminding him of how many times he had abandoned them, for lack of better word, but Shannon simply smiled wryly and continued with the little tradition. Now, every time he looked at those notches, his heart would either ache or warm knowing that this was a connection he had with Shannon and Kelly. They had made those notches with him in their hearts and minds.

Even if it meant being a Marine again or being deployed again… what he would give to come back home and see another little notch with the others but not just any notch… one made by Shannon and Kelly.

Gibbs' voice hitched in his throat as he felt tears rise up but he wouldn't cry. Not in front of Kelly. Or Shannon, for that matter.

**So far away from where you are  
These miles have torn us worlds apart  
And I miss you, yeah, I miss you  
And I wish you were here**

"I miss you guys." Gibbs finally voiced out loud after making sure he could say it with a steady tone.

He had never been a weak person. He almost never showed his emotions and he NEVER cried in front of anyone but for them, he'd make exceptions. The tear that slid down his cheek was proof of that.

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**Concluding Author's Note: Remember, flames are not appreciated while constructive criticism is. Thanks for reading.**


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